Tuesday, June 11, 2013

According to The Guardian, Liverpool are close to completing their second signing of the summer after Iago Aspas arrived on Merseyside to finalise his £7.7m move from Celta Vigo. The 25-year-old forward travelled to Liverpool on Monday, having cancelled a holiday to the Caribbean once he became aware of interest from Anfield, and will undergo a medical on Tuesday before sealing the transfer from his boyhood club.

Aspas, 25, was tracked by Rodgers throughout last season and he initially intended his purchase to complement rather than replace Suárez.

With Suárez’s future looking increasingly to be away from Anfield and Daniel Sturridge fighting to be fit for the start of the season, Rodgers will have to find further striking recruits in the next few months.

Suárez’s public flirtation with Madrid has continued as he has spoken of the attraction of playing alongside Cristiano Ronaldo.

Aspas can operate across the front line and scored 12 goals in Celta's return to the top flight last season following five years in the second division. He had offers from Valencia, Portuguese and Italian teams plus Swansea City, whose failure to conclude the deal has added to Michael Laudrup's frustrations at the Liberty Stadium, but cleared the way for a move to Liverpool after settling a contractual issue with Celta Vigo.

Sunday, June 9, 2013

‘Liverpool is one of the biggest clubs in the world. I could have moved to other teams and countries, but I quickly decided that I wanted to be in England.’

Iago Aspas had plenty of offers when he decided it was time to leave Celta Vigo but there was only one place he was going.

According to the paper the move for the fast and direct left-footer isn't finalised yet, but poised to be sealed for £7.7 million. A local idol, the Vigo-born Aspas was Celta's top scorer with 12 goals in La Liga this season, his first in the top flight.

Aspas is set to earn around £45,000-a-week at Liverpool, and moves on a four-year-contract, having scored a 12 goals in 34 matches last season.

However, Premier League rivals Spurs are one of a handful of clubs thought to have tried to hijack the transfer late on, but Aspas says there was never any doubt about his next destination.

‘I did not hesitate when I heard that Liverpool wanted me,’ said Aspas in Marca.

‘I’m quietly confident, but very excited about this new challenge. This is clearly a huge step forward for me.

This story has been reproduced from the media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club or Red's Fury™ blog.